By the Waters
by artos77
Summary: A Bolo from the Concordiat of Man ends up in 1939 California, is found by a Jewish refugee from Poland, and they eventually decide to do something about Hitler and Stalin...
1. Chapter 1

By the Waters

By the waters, the waters, of Babylon,

we lay down and wept,

and wept,

and wept for thee, Zion,

we remember, we remember,

we remember thee Zion.

Lament of the Jews after being taken into captivity in the Babylonian Empire

Diagnostic check: all systems functional

Weapons: 99.96 full

Processors: on line

Boot Up: commencing

_I wake. The surrounding circumstances are not proper. I am a Mark XXXIII Bolo, and one of the most powerful weapons ever created by man. I am a defender of humanity, and have served the Concordiat of Man, and its successor states for 100 years. I have fought in ten campaigns, and have been awarded the Platinum Solar Cross for heroism twice. Always I have fought with valor, and never retreated or surrendered. But never have I been awakened in this manner!_

The beach was cold, and the sand was not as warm, as it appeared to be. That was why Lucy Rosenblum had come out to run around. Her mother was working hard at her job, sewing pants with the aid of sewing machines, and her father was also working at his job at the aircraft plant. He was a night watchmen, when he could have been a engineer, and her mothera seamstress. But they were from Poland, where her parents had gotten out in 1936. Father was terrified of Hitler, and when Czechoslovakia was overrun, he had turned all his assets into cash, and bought tickets to America. They had come to America with no personal friends, and very little ready money. Papa and moma were near their wits end when they had found a advertisement in a newspaper offering jobs at a aircraft factory in California. It had been a hard train trip, but there was work to be had. Unfortunately for Lucy, her parents had no time for her, with the family to feed on small wages. And so she amused herself, playing on the beach near Los Angeles. And . . . What was that?

At firstthe object looked like the wreckof a ship, but it was too new for that, its metal shining in the sun, and weapons bristling from every angle. Lucy had seen newsreels of Hitler's tanks, and this was like that, only ten times larger than any tank or anything else Lucy had ever seen, even_ ocean liners! _

_I_ _see the human girl, and wonder what she is thinking. And then she screams and runs away. I turn on my counter-gravity unit and pursue her. I soon overtake her and have her inside my warhull. I then ask her what is wrong._

"What is wrong, citizen?" "Why do you percive me as a threat?" "I am no threat to citizens of the Concordiat of Man, or any other states that have been established by humans."

Lucy's heart nearly stopped when she realized what the machine must be. It must be a German war machine, here to invade America! She ran as fast as she could from it, but it caught up with her easily, and took her inside it. Strangely enough, there was no pilot inside it, only machines that she could see. She had been in the aircraft factory many times, and had seen lathes, drill presses,and other machinery. This was like that, except that it seemed much more advanced. And then the machine began to speak . . .

She felt amazed, and wondered what this Concordiat was, that the machine spoke of. "What do you mean, Concordiat of Man?" "There is no such organization, that I have ever heard of.

_I_ _calculate_ _that the girl is telling the truth, based on the factors used in lie-detectors, such as sweat, and breathing rate. The fact is alarming, meaning that either so much time has passed that even the memory of the Concordiat of Man is gone, or . . . _

_I cannot guess what the other possibility might be. No, I _fear_ what the other possibility might be. I have never known fear before, in 100 years of conflict, and decades of powered down status. I have the equivalent of the Concordiat's whole library system in my computer banks, and I have scanned through thousands of them. I have read of battles and wars that go back to the time when man was on only one planet, and believed that the world was flat. But despite reading of fear in battle, and hundreds and thousands of men and woman running away from a battle or a war, I have never understood _fear_. Surely, I thought, men and women could overcome their fear. They could stand and fight _despite _the danger, or _because_ of it. But to think, even for a moment, that I am _alone_, the only one of my kind . . . _

_I understand fear now, and have some sympathy for those soldiers who have run from battles before. I see a book in my files, called the ''_Red Badge of Courage' _set in the American Civil War. It seems to help my dilemma, being about a soldier who wants to fight and gain a wound, a ' _Red Badge of Courage' _which will prove he is brave. But he runs away from the battle, and thinks himself a coward. And yet he then rejoins his unit and proves his bravery in battle._

Lucy asked the machine "Are you one of Hitler's tanks?" The machine gave no reply, and then said "No."

_Hitler. I look for him in my memory banks, and find masses of information. Most of it is terrifying. He seems to have been a dictator, and tyrant of the first stripe. His Nazis were based on alarmingly false beliefs,and his Mein Kamf is a collection of lies. His crimes . . . are practically unbelievable, and monstrous. It is good for Terra that he was destroyed._

_But why does this girl think I might be one of his tanks? He had impressive tanks, and indeed the Mark I Bolo is partially based on some of the principles that Hitler's tanks had. But Hitler was destroyed nearly a thousand years ago. Unless . . . _

_The thought is maddening, and I cannot say that is it is true. But how else would she know of Hitler, after the Concordiat. Unless I am _before_ the Concordiat of Man was created._

_And not only before, but nearly _1,300_ years before. Back in the 1900's, when modern warfare was just starting, and tanks were only one human generation from having not existed at all. There can be no one in this era who can command me properly, and I could be free off all human orders. The thought is not pleasing. I have been programed to obey lawful orders, and protect humanity. That is easily done when a alien race declares war on or attacks the Concordiat of Man or its allies. It is not so easy when humans fight each other, such as pirate raids or internal conflicts. On Jefferson, a Bolo was used by a anti-populist socialist goverment to hold on to power. In many respects it paralled the Communist Party in Terran Russia and what it did to stay in power. In the end, though, the government was overthrown. I scan the files on Hitler again, and am still astonished. How could such a obvious liar have managed not to get caught in his lies? And how could he justify his hatred of Jews? It makes, and made, no sense. _

Lucy asked "What are you then?"

"I am a Bolo Mark XXXIII of the Line, Hull Number 18456207B, Initials MRC.

I have now divulged privledged informantion to, as far as I know, an unknown civilian. But I have no way of contacting the Concordiat of Man, or my superiors. It seems I am marooned in the past, and having no information in my data banks of any such war machine or invasion in the past, I have already by my very presence changed the future of man.

"What's a Bolo?"


	2. Chapter 2

By The Waters Chapter 2

Lucy looked at the machine's controls with amazement. "And you say that Germany will invade Poland in less than a year?"  "Afirmative."   "On September 1, 1939, Gemany claimed that the Polish Army had attacked one of it's radio stations. What had really happened was that the Germans had taken a number of their convicts, dressed them in Polish Army uniforms, and then shot them all. That was the pretext for invasion." "By October 6, they had forced the Polish Army to surrender, at least  partially because the Soviet Union had attacked the Eastern half of Poland."  Lucy asked "What happened to Jews?"  

The "Bolo" replied "They were  rounded up and placed in Ghettos in Warsaw and other Polish cities. Eventually they were sent to special camps where, through use of poison gas, hundreds of thousands  or millions were killed."  Lucy stared at the machine. "How could that Happen?"  The machine replied "No one believed that people could, but no country, including England, was willing to take in the Jews. Hitler's policy made it imperative that that be done as soon as possible, no matter that he was losing the war and needed all the material he could get."  "And what can you do to stop this," asked Lucy. 

_I calculate the strength of the German army and that of the other two partners in the Axis, and am rather shocked. Neither Italy nor Japan seem to have any tanks or armored vehicles worthy of the name! And Germany has very few compared to the  number the Soviet Union and the other allied countries have, or can bring to bear. I direct my attention to Lucy Rosenblum, and prepare to tell her_. "A Bolo Mark XXXIII is usually classified as a Planetary Siege Unit, and capable of taking on a regular armored Corps. With the technology of this time, I could probaby engage an entire Army Group with a good chance of victory. So yes, I can stop this.

September 1st 1939

Generaloberst  Fedor Von Bock watched his tanks and men roll in, and smiled. The Fuhrer was a wise man, wanting to destroy Communism at its beginning, the Soviet Union. But first, the Reds must be lulled into a false sense of security by this. And the German Army was going to crush the Poles like bugs! But what was that....    My GOD!!     

_I target 60 mark Is and 30 mark IIs and only 20 mark IIIs. I fire secondary 20CM Hellbores at the division. Ten seconds later the Second Panzer Division has no tanks. I target Divisional artillery next. This time I use VLS missles and the time to target is longer. So I must wait a full 120 seconds until their artillery is destroyed. While that volley is in the air, I fire 200CM Hellbores at antitank guns and troop concentrations. The Second Panzer Division is no longer a elite armored unit, but a battered infantry force. I move on, knowing I can come back to them, but trying to maintain surprise as long as possible. The Fifth Armored Division is my next target...._

By the Waters Chapter 3

September 11th, 1939

Reichstag, Berlin 

The Reichstag was like the eye of storm, Heinz Guderian thought, an island of calm surrounded by panic and fear. But nothing touched the High Command's sense of complacency. This war, which had started with such high hopes, was beginning to show that, like all wars in history, that predictions before a war about a  country's strength could be wrong.

And it seemed that Germany's beliefs in military superiority over Poland were totally wrong. The first reports on the Panzer divisions had been astonishing, telling of them outrunning and causing to surrender far larger forces. But then contact with the Panzer units and their Panzer Grenadier infantry regiments was lost. Then reports started coming in about units retreating! It was absurd, but the Poles were actually winning, with outdated equipment and ill-trained men. Then more reports came in on what was destroying them. Guderian had ordered to Berlin the least wounded men, for debriefing on what in god's name was destroying the cream of German Army!  

Finally he reached the meeting room, and the debriefing began. "Well, Lieutnant Mueller, what happened to your unit? "Well sir, it was a tank, but a tank like none I've ever seen. It was as big as a fort, but faster then any vehicle I've ever seen, and with weapons that could smash us to pieces. It first went after tanks, then our artillery, then antitank guns. The First Panzer was gone at the end of it's attack. We couldn't even hit the damn thing!"

I examine the situation. In 10 days, I have detroyed 75% of Nazi Germany's tanks, antitank guns, artillery, and 60% of it's trucks and staff vehicles. I estimate that in another 5 day's I can be at Berlin. I stochastically calculate that Germany will then surrender, and I may attack the Soviet Union, kill Stalin, liberate the Soviet gulags, and still be 75% combat ready. I estimate that with the technological advantage I possess that humanity will achive faster-than-light travel in less than 30 years, and incalculable numbers of lives will have been saved. 

I stand before the Reichstag. I look upon the great swastika that was perverted by Hitler into a symbol of death, terror, and ignorance. In my history, it was dynamited in 1945 by the Allies. Here, this symbol of Hitler's "thousand year Reich" will not even last  6. I aim and fire. I then project through my loudspeakers, in German, FOR THE HONOR OF THE REGIMENT!

The end... for now

For all those who have been waiting for an ending to By the Waters, I'm sorry I could not write a better and longer one. But I wrote By the Waters never expecting to need to finish it. I personally always hated the fact that Eastern Europe got occupied by the Soviet Union, not to mention the slaughter of millions of  Gypsies, Slavs, Jews, and other ethnic and  political 'undesirables'. I wanted at first a way in which the Allies could have beaten Hitler before the Holocaust could have taken place,  but that wasn't really practical. So I settled on a deus ex machina. I thought of all kinds of secret weapons and impossible ways to 'win' WW2 well before it actually ended. I finally though of Bolos, and then though, what if one of them traveled through time... And that's the story of By the Waters, and anyone who wants to can use my template to write a better story.


	3. Chapter 3

By The Waters Chapter 2

Lucy looked at the machine's controls with amazement. "And you say that Germany will invade Poland in less than a year?"  "Afirmative."   "On September 1, 1939, Gemany claimed that the Polish Army had attacked one of it's radio stations. What had really happened was that the Germans had taken a number of their convicts, dressed them in Polish Army uniforms, and then shot them all. That was the pretext for invasion." "By October 6, they had forced the Polish Army to surrender, at least  partially because the Soviet Union had attacked the Eastern half of Poland."  Lucy asked "What happened to Jews?"  

The "Bolo" replied "They were  rounded up and placed in Ghettos in Warsaw and other Polish cities. Eventually they were sent to special camps where, through use of poison gas, hundreds of thousands  or millions were killed."  Lucy stared at the machine. "How could that Happen?"  The machine replied "No one believed that people could, but no country, including England, was willing to take in the Jews. Hitler's policy made it imperative that that be done as soon as possible, no matter that he was losing the war and needed all the material he could get."  "And what can you do to stop this," asked Lucy. 

_I calculate the strength of the German army and that of the other two partners in the Axis, and am rather shocked. Neither Italy nor Japan seem to have any tanks or armored vehicles worthy of the name! And Germany has very few compared to the  number the Soviet Union and the other allied countries have, or can bring to bear. I direct my attention to Lucy Rosenblum, and prepare to tell her_. "A Bolo Mark XXXIII is usually classified as a Planetary Siege Unit, and capable of taking on a regular armored Corps. With the technology of this time, I could probaby engage an entire Army Group with a good chance of victory. So yes, I can stop this.

September 1st 1939

Generaloberst  Fedor Von Bock watched his tanks and men roll in, and smiled. The Fuhrer was a wise man, wanting to destroy Communism at its beginning, the Soviet Union. But first, the Reds must be lulled into a false sense of security by this. And the German Army was going to crush the Poles like bugs! But what was that....    My GOD!!     

_I target 60 mark Is and 30 mark IIs and only 20 mark IIIs. I fire secondary 20CM Hellbores at the division. Ten seconds later the Second Panzer Division has no tanks. I target Divisional artillery next. This time I use VLS missles and the time to target is longer. So I must wait a full 120 seconds until their artillery is destroyed. While that volley is in the air, I fire 200CM Hellbores at antitank guns and troop concentrations. The Second Panzer Division is no longer a elite armored unit, but a battered infantry force. I move on, knowing I can come back to them, but trying to maintain surprise as long as possible. The Fifth Armored Division is my next target...._

By the Waters Chapter 3

September 11th, 1939

Reichstag, Berlin 

The Reichstag was like the eye of storm, Heinz Guderian thought, an island of calm surrounded by panic and fear. But nothing touched the High Command's sense of complacency. This war, which had started with such high hopes, was beginning to show that, like all wars in history, that predictions before a war about a  country's strength could be wrong.

And it seemed that Germany's beliefs in military superiority over Poland were totally wrong. The first reports on the Panzer divisions had been astonishing, telling of them outrunning and causing to surrender far larger forces. But then contact with the Panzer units and their Panzer Grenadier infantry regiments was lost. Then reports started coming in about units retreating! It was absurd, but the Poles were actually winning, with outdated equipment and ill-trained men. Then more reports came in on what was destroying them. Guderian had ordered to Berlin the least wounded men, for debriefing on what in god's name was destroying the cream of German Army!  

Finally he reached the meeting room, and the debriefing began. "Well, Lieutnant Mueller, what happened to your unit? "Well sir, it was a tank, but a tank like none I've ever seen. It was as big as a fort, but faster then any vehicle I've ever seen, and with weapons that could smash us to pieces. It first went after tanks, then our artillery, then antitank guns. The First Panzer was gone at the end of it's attack. We couldn't even hit the damn thing!"

I examine the situation. In 10 days, I have detroyed 75% of Nazi Germany's tanks, antitank guns, artillery, and 60% of it's trucks and staff vehicles. I estimate that in another 5 day's I can be at Berlin. I stochastically calculate that Germany will then surrender, and I may attack the Soviet Union, kill Stalin, liberate the Soviet gulags, and still be 75% combat ready. I estimate that with the technological advantage I possess that humanity will achive faster-than-light travel in less than 30 years, and incalculable numbers of lives will have been saved. 

I stand before the Reichstag. I look upon the great swastika that was perverted by Hitler into a symbol of death, terror, and ignorance. In my history, it was dynamited in 1945 by the Allies. Here, this symbol of Hitler's "thousand year Reich" will not even last  6. I aim and fire. I then project through my loudspeakers, in German, FOR THE HONOR OF THE REGIMENT!

The end... for now

For all those who have been waiting for an ending to By the Waters, I'm sorry I could not write a better and longer one. But I wrote By the Waters never expecting to need to finish it. I personally always hated the fact that Eastern Europe got occupied by the Soviet Union, not to mention the slaughter of millions of  Gypsies, Slavs, Jews, and other ethnic and  political 'undesirables'. I wanted at first a way in which the Allies could have beaten Hitler before the Holocaust could have taken place,  but that wasn't really practical. So I settled on a deus ex machina. I thought of all kinds of secret weapons and impossible ways to 'win' WW2 well before it actually ended. I finally though of Bolos, and then though, what if one of them traveled through time... And that's the story of By the Waters, and anyone who wants to can use my template to write a better story.


End file.
